Description

TRAI issues direction mandating entities regulated by RBI, SEBI, and PFRDA to adopt 1600-series numbering for service and transactional calls to enhance consumer trust and prevent fraud.

Summary

TRAI has issued a mandatory direction requiring BFSI sector entities regulated by RBI, SEBI, and PFRDA to adopt the 1600-series numbering for all service and transactional calls. This initiative aims to enhance consumer trust, curb spam, and prevent fraudulent activities by enabling citizens to reliably identify legitimate calls from regulated financial institutions. Approximately 485 entities have already adopted the series with over 2800 numbers subscribed.

Key Points

  • TRAI mandates phase-wise adoption of 1600-series numbers for BFSI sector entities
  • Direction issued after consultation with Joint Committee of Regulators (JCoR)
  • 1600-series assigned by DoT to distinguish service/transactional calls from commercial communications
  • 485 entities already adopted with 2800+ numbers subscribed
  • Entities using standard 10-digit numbers must migrate to reduce fraud risk
  • Insurance sector timeline under discussion with IRDAI, to be notified separately

Regulatory Changes

TRAI has mandated the adoption of 1600-series numbering resources for entities in the Banking, Financial Services and Insurance (BFSI) sector regulated by RBI, SEBI, and PFRDA. This replaces the use of standard 10-digit numbers for service and transactional calls to clearly distinguish legitimate institutional calls from potential fraudulent communications.

Compliance Requirements

SEBI-Regulated Entities:

  • All Mutual Funds and Asset Management Companies (AMCs) must complete adoption
  • All Qualified Stockbrokers (QSBs) must complete adoption
  • Other SEBI-registered intermediaries may voluntarily migrate after verification

RBI-Regulated Entities:

  • Commercial Banks (Public Sector, Private Sector, Foreign Banks) must onboard
  • Large NBFCs (asset size above ₹5000 crore), Payments Banks, and Small Finance Banks must onboard
  • Remaining NBFCs, Co-operative Banks, Regional Rural Banks, and smaller entities must onboard

PFRDA-Regulated Entities:

  • Central Recordkeeping Agencies (CRAs) must onboard
  • Pension Fund Managers must onboard

Important Dates

  • January 1, 2026: Commercial Banks (PSBs, Private Banks, Foreign Banks) onboarding deadline
  • February 1, 2026: Large NBFCs (>₹5000 crore), Payments Banks, Small Finance Banks onboarding deadline
  • February 15, 2026:
    • Mutual Funds and AMCs adoption deadline
    • CRAs and Pension Fund Managers onboarding deadline
  • March 1, 2026: Remaining NBFCs, Co-operative Banks, Regional Rural Banks onboarding deadline
  • March 15, 2026: Qualified Stockbrokers (QSBs) adoption deadline

Impact Assessment

Market Impact: All SEBI-regulated mutual funds, AMCs, and stockbrokers must implement new telephony systems to comply with mandatory deadlines. This affects customer communication infrastructure across the financial services industry.

Operational Impact: Entities need to coordinate with Telecom Service Providers for number allocation, update customer databases, modify calling systems, and communicate new numbers to clients before respective deadlines.

Consumer Impact: Enhanced protection against impersonation-based financial frauds through clear identification of legitimate institutional calls. Consumers will be able to distinguish authentic financial institution calls from potential scam calls using the distinctive 1600-series prefix.

Compliance Risk: Non-compliance may result in regulatory action and inability to conduct service/transactional calls using standard numbers after deadlines.

Impact Justification

Mandatory compliance requirement affecting all SEBI-regulated entities including mutual funds, AMCs, and stockbrokers with strict deadlines starting February 2026. Non-compliance could impact market operations and customer communications.